Rod-grinding machine



Jam.N 6, 1925.

`.LAI-MNT] v ROD GRINDING MACHINE Filed Aug.l1"7. 1920 3 Sheets-Sheetgl bw ob. bh

Jan, 6, 1925.

K I ,y 2 K @w @v 1 l u s@ K mmmbm, .0 K on K K nl". M n K K YAK y m6 Qi w M y 1 ,m o M. K. l m K www l E Jo K mw.. K m m K, K 9 T w m o* b N M KU G W K. H m vDN K :W A M A i G .m mm S Jan, 6, 1925.

J. A. HUNT ROD GRINDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 1v, 1920 s sheets-sheet a Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

UNITED STATES JONATHAN A. HUNT, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORVTO VFREDERICK I..A

EMEEY, or LEXINGTON, MALTSSACHUSETTS.`

ROD-GRINBING MACHINE.

Application led August 17,1920. Serial No. 404,111, f

To all 'whom aff/may concern.' j

Be it known that I, JONATHAN A. HUNT, a citizen of the .United States, and a resident of Salem, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Rod-Grinding Machines, of which the following description,- in connection with the accompanying ydrawingsis a specification, 4like characters on the: drawings repre'- senting like parts.y

This invention relates to machines for pointing wires or rods and especially for separating wires or rods from a mass and advancing themv to the pointing instrumentalities.` An object of the invention is to provide means for separating the rods from themass and in advancing them in proper parallel relation so as to prevent tangling y or twisting thereof and to insure the. feeding of said' rods insingle layer formation.

l The invention will `be, best understood by referring,r to the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings of one specificv embodiment thereof.l

` In the drawings- 1 Fig. l is a front elevation of the upper portion of the machine yembodying this. invention; l

Fig. 2 is a detail vertical section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1'; v

F ig. 3 is a longitudinal section throughl .they-*wire and rod separating-andfadvanclng lmeans taken substantially on'the 'line 3 3 of F ig.- 2; t

Fig. l is a horizontalrdetail section through one side of the rod Separating and feedinlg means taken on the line 1 -4: of'F ig. 3; anc

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken substantially` on the line 5 5 of'Fig. 2- at the left hand end of the rod mass container.

In the drawings a frame 1 is shownwhereon the various instrumentalities of the machine are supported. y This frame may be of any appropriate shape or. design but herein is of substantially box-like construction. v

Mounted within sa1d frame 1s a casmg or housing 2 adapted to contain the work-forming member hereln an `abrasive grinding wheel 3, the latter being secured to an arbor 4 Journalled l1n bearing boxes 5 at oppovgrinding wheel 3 is site sides of said grinder housing 2. The

provided -with a concave grinding face 6.

The grinder or work-forming member` 3 may receive its powery from ate source not shown.`

The housing 2 for the grinderk surrounds the greater portion lof the periphery thereof so as to catch the grinding dust discharged any approprifrom said grinder. Suitable means may be provided for takin latter being omitte from the present drawmg. I 1

In `machines of the'character embodying care of` said dust, the4 this inventionthe work/is fed transversely of the face/of thegrinding wheel or workvforming memberand preferablyin a substantially tangential relation i thereto but at an angle toV the axis o-f the grinder, the grinding operation being initiated at the end of the work at al point in the circumference in advance ofl the point 'of contact'of the tangent with its circle, the end of the work `being movedfduringthe feeding operation at 'i an angle tol but toward a radial plane pass- .ing throughsaid point of'contact.` As the work, herein rods orA wires, is advanced transversely of thel *grinding` face 'of the wheel, its endswill gradually assume the approach of the work to saidV plane.

It isobviously-within the scope and puring the work so yas to elfectftherounding of the points are shown, said means prefer-ablyl including a plurality of saddles 8 and cooperating feed wheels 9.- The saddlesS yhave arcuate resilient lguiding` surfaces" 10 'sub-v stantially coinciding with" .the concave face 6 of the grinding wheel; The cooperating faces of the. feed wheels areflikewise resiliently surfaced as at llto conform with the faces or surfaces l() of `said saddles.

It is desirable, at times', to 'vary the angle v of approachfof the rods orworkwith respect to the grinding surface ofgthe member 3 so that the taper or` 'angle of the finished point Y may belong or'short and in the present exso.. form of a point by reason of the gradual l ample this. adjustment is provided for by r .l of said grinding wheel.

' .is inclined at an angle to a, horizontal plane mounting the saddles 8 and their cooperating feed wheels 9 upona suitable work table 12 to which lateral, longitudinal or `transverse movement may be imparted to vary its relation to the work member as will hereinafter be described.

The table 12 has an opening 13 through which the housing and grinding wheel are adapted to protrude in order tha-t the work carried by the vtable or saddles may be brought into contact with the grinding face The work table 12 inclining downwardly toward the left in Fig. 1 and said tableispreferably mounted so that this angle may be'variedfrom time to timeas needs require. The saddles 8 are mounted upon `the table 12 within the opening 13 (see Fig. 2).

There are occasions when a fine adjustmentv of the table relative to said grinding` wheel is desirable. Therefore appropriate meansfor eecting such an adjustment are provided, the present example including an adjusting screw 14 (see Fig. 1) arranged in screw-threaded engagement with a bracket 15 and with its inner end engagmg the edge of .a plate 16 on which rests the left or lowermost end of the table l2.

The bracket 15 has ears 17 through v.which passes a shaft 18,the latter being supported in suitable bearings 19 on the frame 1. The shaft 18 is provided with cams or eccentrics 2() arranged to engagethe platelG and an operating lever 21 is attached to one end of said shaft whereby said ,shaft may be rotated or rocked. when it is desired to raise the end 0f said work tableandremove the ends of said rods `that are being pointed from Contact with the grinding wheel.

The right-hand end of the table 12, as viewed from Fig. 1, is also adjustable vertically, herein by means of screw-threaded rods 22 pivotally attached at 23 to the under side of said table, the lower ends of said screws engaging the plates 24 wherein 'they are held in their adjusted position by check nuts 25. yThe plates 24 are also slotted as shown at 26 to receive the screws 27 which extend through said slots and into screwthreaded engagement with brackets 28 attached to opposite corners of the frame 1, thus allowing a limited adjustment of said plates without removing the screws 27.

From the foregoing it will be seen that uiiilversal adjustment of the table 12 is possi e.A

In machines of the type shown, considerable difficulty'v hasheretofore been experiencedin feeding rods to the grinding wheel by reason of the fact that rods of considerable length become twisted about each other and thus clog the feeding devices of the machine but in the present machine this has been overcome by providing a plurality of The feed wheels 9 are mounted upon a suitable shaft 29 journaled to rotate in suitable bearings such as boxes 30 vertically adjustable in appropriate standards or brackets. 31. carried by the'table 12. The wheels 9 are referably keyed to said shaft but are capa le of movement longitudinally thereof. The shaft 29 receives its motion from any suitable source through a counter-shaft 32, the latter having a pulley 33 secured thereto and driven by a belt 34 -arranged so that upon a slight upward tilt of the table 12 by the cams 20, said belt will be a slackened suiiicient to prevent further movement of saidvshaft, thus stopping the feed of the rods to the grinding wheel. l

Means are also'shown herein for adjusting the kfeed wheels'9 toward or away from the grinding surfaces of the saddles 8 to accommodate for variations in size of different lots of work and preferably it is desirable that the two or plurality of feed wheels be given simultaneous and uniformmovements so that the same amount of pressure will always-be brought to bear upon all portions of the rods, thus insuring an equal feeding movement of both ends of the rods. this purpose means are provided comprising screws 35 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, one being 'rotatable' in-each of the lstandards 31y and having screw-threaded engagement` with the boxes30. The screws 35 are provided with bevelled gears 36 to mesh with bevelled gears 37 fast to a common operating shaft 38 arranged to rotate in suitable bearings-in said standards. A hand wheelv 39 is attached to the shaft and serves as means for manually operating the same to raise and lower said boxes.

It is desirable that the rods or work be fed by said feed wheels in a single layer, transverse of the *face of the grinding wheel, in order that each rod shall receive the same amount of grinding and that the grinding be uniform all around so as to bring the point as nearly as possible at the center of the rod. It is also desirable that the `machine be automatic; that is that the rods be fed or. separated from a mass and advanced'or delivered to the feeding means in a single layer formation. Therefore in -the present example means or provided for For ranged substantially parallel with thetable 12 and the rods in the mass will incline equally when placed upon said bottom and by reason of the inclination downward toward the grinding wheel; hence said rods Will have a tendency to slide toward the lower vend of said container and thus even ly inclined blades extending longitudinally of said drum and projecting .a predetermined distance from the face thereof,l said blades being separated from each other herein a "distance sufiicientto take in approximately three wir'esor rods, al-

though clearly within the spirit-andfscopel of the invention this distance may be varied as desired. j

. The drum 48 is herein shown mounted upon a shaft 51 journalled to rotate in appropriate bearingsas at 52, 52 secured to the side members'41 and 42. :The drum 48 is so arranged 4within `the container 40 and in relation to the forward or lower end of the bottom N43 that said blades 49 will pass upwardly in the direction of the arrow'a during the rotation vof said drum, in close" proximity to said lower edge of the bottom 43, in fact'so close that `any rods which vhappen to be at saidedge and fwithin the path of the projecting portions of said plates will be picked up thereby and carried to the top of said drum, whence they vare guided by suitable means hereinafter describedto the receiving ends of the saddles 8. The point in the periphery of the drum 48 where the rods or wires leave said drum is approximately on a level with the receiving ends of the saddles 8 and there is, in the present example, a slight gap between said' highest-'point ofthe drum and said receiving ends of the saddles and across this gap means are provided such as a guide plate 53 for guiding the work from said drum to said saddles; The upper surface. of said plate is arranged substantially .with the face. of said drum so as to formy a continuation of the surface of said drum, and in yorder to insure the following of the work ofrods alongsaid plate rather than around the drum beyond said highest point, means are provided herein consisting of stripping fingers 54 arranged in suitable' recesses 55 formed in the face of said drum so-as to bring the outer edges of said fingers substantially Hush, except as hereinafter stated, with the faceof said drum and thus serve as guiding means to -transferj'said rods or work from the.- drum to `the guide 'plate 53. In .order to provide gapsvor-.re-- cesses for said stripping lingers in the presentl example, the kdrum 48,y instead of being made inA one' piece, 1s madeinsseparatesec- 'tions 56 (see Fig. 3), each sect-ion being vattached to the shaft 51 as shown-invsection i'nfsaid F ig. 3. rvThe. stripping vfingers 54 are arranged tofextend .along said recesses part/way around the vface of the drum from the forwardedge 57 ,of-I said guide plate 53 and terminate in ,partially rounded ends' 59,"said stripping. lingers projecting" beneath said, guide plate and being secured to theunder edge thereof herein by screws 58.

Obviously the diameter of the i i that, are to be pointed bythe machine may vary and therefore the projectionof the blades beyond ,the periphery of the drum l should desirably'be great enough to accommodate the largest size of -wire or rod that [a machine is capacitate'd to .operate upon, but itis desirable `that the projection of said blades, particularly at the point in the circumference of the periphery of the Y drum near the outer edgey 57 lof said guide plate.y be 'at least no greater than the diameter of the wires or'rods that are being advanced thereby so that saidrods will be maintained, as they are advanced along the upper surface of said guide plate, in single layer formation. Therefore to produce thek desired amount of projection, the forward edge 57 of said guide plate and the stripping ingers attached thereto are arranged adjustably, preferably inl the following manner: y l

The plate 53 is supported atJ its inner edge by lugs 84 projecting inwardly from the side members 41 andi42 and screws 85 j projecting through `said plate and through said lugs maintain said table in the 'desired' relation thereto but permit a slight raising and lowering ofthe outer edge 57 thereof, which raising and lowering movem'entsare effected by means'of adjusting screws 86 extending through said "side members and in contact with the underside of said .plate near said forward edge. Thus by rotating the screws 86 said plate 53 willbe tilted upon the 'lugs and the fingers will' in consequence be raisedy or lowered tovary the projection of, the blades' beyond the outer edges 87 of said fingers. As previously stated, the fingers '54 extend only i part way around that mass container. y j v It is equallyvdesirableto provide means for regulatingv the projection of the blades near tliebottom of the container so that more than one layer of rods will not be portionl of the periphery of the drum that is withinl the rod.

picked up thereby as said blades pass through the mass, particularly in cases Where the normal projectionv of said blades beyondy the periphery of the drum, s is greater than the diameter of the rod that is being handled by the machine. In the present example lmeans are provided for regulating the projection aforesaid consisting of a second series offingers 88 which series is secured to a bar 89 extending lengthwise of the rod mass container between the side membersy41 and 42. This bar is mounted upon an appropriate plate 907secured to the side -members 41 and 42 and extending longitudinally of said rod mass container and is, arranged on said I xplate to move toward and away fromfthe axis of 'the drum and herein adjusting screws 91 and stop screws 92 carried by said plate, are arranged to effecta fine adjustment and positioning of said bar inthe direction mentioned. y

Screws 98 project through slots 93El in said plate and into engagement withy said bar and positively hold said bar in` its adjusted position. From the foregoing description it will be seen that a fine adjustment of the'fingers 88 may be effected toprovide for the exact amount of projection of the blades 50 beyond 'the outer curved faces of said fingers.

The fingers 88 are arranged at their lower ends to extend into recesses .or suitable notches 94 formed in the inner edge of the bottom 43 (see Fig. 4), thus insuring, at all.

` fingers and saidY bottom to prevent small .rods or wires from passing downwardly therethrough' due to the adjustment aforesaid. From this arrangement it will be seen that a pocket 6l will be formed at the very bottom of the rod mass container of such a shape that even though the mass of rods as shown at b, Fig. 2, is very small it will be crowded against the face ofthe guide lingers 88 and the corresponding face of the rotary member 48 so that as the blades 50 travel upwardly'y between the stripping fingers, they will pick up a limited number of the rods and carry them upwardly along the outer curved edges of said iingersand when they reach the uppermost point in the drum, said rods will be stripped or removed from in front of said blades and advanced in single layer formation along the ripper guiding surface of the plate 5 3 to said saddles.

To prevent more than one layer of `rods or wires from being carried by the blades of the conveyorl or drum to the 'plate 53 a wiper 62' is provided herein consisting of a strip of resilient material such as felt 63 mounted upon a bar G4., said feltand said bar extending substantially the length of said rod mass container. The bar 64 is suspended by means of hangers 65 from a shaft 6G, said shaft being arranged to rock in appropriate bearings 67 in the side 1ncm bers of said rod mass container. An operating arm 68 is attachedvto. said shaft and affords means for Vrocking the same so as to remove the wiper froml contact with the rods, the normal operating position of said wiper beingshown in Fig. 2. Said wiper is herein adapted to wipe oifall superfluous rods which chance to stick to the periphery7 of the drum and are carried along thereby toward the feeding means.

It is equally desirable to prevent piling up of the rods as they are pushed by the blades of the drum along the top of the plate 53 toward the feeding means including the feed wheels 9 and saddles 8. For this purpose I provide a row of fingers l69 preferably placed directly above the stripping fingers 54 and means are herein provided to space said fingers 79 from the fingers 54 a distance substantially equal'to the diameter of the. rods or wires that are being advanced along said guide plate, said means being such as to provide adjustment to accommodate rods of various diameters and also to permit said Vfingers to be raised when said rods become stuck for one reason or anr other in their` passageto the feeding members. The means herein provided for the purpose specified include bars 70 and 71 arranged between the sides 41 and 42 and supported,A at their opposite ends, by hangers 72, 73 (see Figs-2 and 3). p The hangers 72 and 73 have portions 74 which lie .against the inner faces of the members 41 and 42 to which portions the ends of the bars 70 and 71 are attached'. The hangers 72, '73 are pivotaly supported at opposite ends of a shaft 7 5, the latter having eccentric'cams 76, 77 secured to opposite ends thereof and encircled *by eccentric straps 78, the latter secured by screws 79 to the side members41 and 42. y A handle or operating member 7 9.: is attached to one of said cams and servesas means for rocking vsaid shaft with thecams thereon to raise and lower the bars70 and 71and the fingers attached thereto.

It is desirable that the opposite ends of the fingers 69 be positioned at exactly the right distance from the upper surface of the guide plate 53 and so that the pressure -of said fingers upon the rods which are being rolled or advanced along said guide plate will be th'esame all along the row of rods; that is from the forward ends to the rear ends of said fingers. To effect this result means are vprovidedherein consisting of stop screws 8O and 81 which are arranged, in a iiange 82 projecting from the hangers 72, 73 outwardly over the top edge of the side members 41, 42, said set screws being held in their adjusted positions by check'nuts 83,

' i ling' either long Io'r. Short? rods?" but.' fv'vhe' The present mach Ane s` Capable 'f` han short rods" are bein `sep farated vfrfin i the Amass it is desirable 'that/ the fingers and son the'ngers near, the, lower end ofthe l. to'n'rA 43', of 'said container`l downwardly to:V

" even theeridsj'f; saidrods-aga'inSt'- the lower edfof said container; The refore'4 to" faoilitate the evening. ofijsa'id ends,"saidcontainer ai is lpiaviaeiijwiiii aagviiiiigpiateor guide; memberQJfThis gide memberhasa por-fA tin 96 thatfis inoli'ned "slightly (see Fig. 4) A so that as 'said rods' work down the inclined fio Fig'. e. Very often the massjofrodfsfwithin' the 'eontainer arenotpbs 2.51 thereof whichA4 aref. Vo

"align, aiih'oii ii th inucih more WidelY- Separated, than the",

bottom 43 toward the drum, theywi11 b e atingtherewith.

vm96 'the jg'uide member-1onerene..plate is they reach the upper also: inclined with reispeei iqayeriicaj1fp1ime 45 as shownin Fig. 3. 'Thusassaid'rods are being elevatedby the b1ade's 50" of the'fcon'" Vejyo'r for drum, the" 1'a1tter-v inclination Wil,

plaies?, wherejsifiiriiier? endwse' movement lthereon Jup or down' as desired n posite sides thereof` as shown in dotted lines "linen diameters,

'jsaidfjffeedriyheela of Well da mentir. This iiii'c is arraigned-@Q upon-che .shaft-.29, Sad-y sproclseiibemafifperf thereof, isarranged'tozengge teethof a limiting sense 'b 'nty that fthe" machine Is i ca'-,

1,. square shapesfjof ro s-gprf `v vires yThey e andled by said machine; a1

` Whil'el have lherein shoivn and Yjdseribfe'd l merely for yillustrativapurposes a speo1 130f `Siiiii medi-l" l embodiment omy invention and have-disy closed and discussed in detail the construetion and arrangement incidentalto-suchdisclosnre, itisfvdistinetly to be nnderstood that the inventionislimited neither :to `the mere .details or relative arrangement ofparts nor4 I to the specific lapplicationherein; shovvnbut ve t,`ensive variations from theillustrations l l' may be., made Witliont departing from' the,V

principles thereof., .Clairns.. f z l. In `e'onibi-nation, 'a grinder i'and' ,meansv Yto feed'wvo'rkelements to said grinder in l cluding spaced guidevv fingers, the "spaces be- L tween said fingersl gradually' decreasing to- Ward they work Aends of v said fwork elements.

. .2. In a. grinding apparatus, a rotaryl feed i member provided Withv interrupted longitudinalteetli:andr` guide fingers arranged in ber provided with peripheral projectionsk adaptedlto separate the vWork froma vmass l and.. advance'the `same to 'said'vvorlrfeeding means, two cooperating4 sets .v v.otlirigers .re- .,spectively to vary the amount of projection o fsaid kperipheral projections .into the Work mass and tost-ripthe Work from said pe- -yripheralll projections, said fingers being arranged to guide" theworktosaid work feed` ing'means,and means to maintain'the Work in single layer formation until it reaches saidwork feedlng means.

f I 4j'. In combination, a grinderand means to separate vWorlitro1`na mass and advance the same to said grinder, said means lncludmg" ,Y j la rotarymember havingI spaced. peripheral blades, strippers disposed at intervals'longi tudinally of saidrotary member to strip the Worll from said blades, and means to maintainsaid Work in single layer formation.

l ,15. In combination, a grinder" and means .to

' advancework elements in single'layer foro -y `mation to said'grinder, saidl means includgl :ingspaced'guide fingers, the 'spaces between said lingers being least near theendsjof the ,rodswhere the .grinding is to take place.

6. In a. rodor Wire` ,pointing machine,

meansto-.arrange said rods in single layer j y'formation for pointingfincludinga rotary member having peripheral projections and guide, fingers for `said rodsto cooperate with .said projections, and' means to`f etlect a 4 polsi-rv tive adjustmentof'said guideA fingers rela -tive tov saidfprojections tofcompensate for vv7'. In cmnbmatiOn, aI grlnder, a y rotary variations'in the diam'eterof the fvvork.

' drum ,having longitudinally disposed pe .l ripheral projections, to engage and ladvance rods toward said grinder, and stripping fingers .arranged atjseparated points along said drum to strip `the rods from said proections andguide them toward said grinder,

and means tomaintain' said rods in single layer formationon said, stripping fingers.

' 8p In combination, aworkuforming member, means to guide rods in vsingle layer formatlonc tro said. `vvorlrlforming member 1ncluding 'a 'guide plate, a series (j .f spaced guide'fingers, means to raisev and' lower said guide. fingers `relatively to said plate, and means to effect separation `between said 'platel and 'said fingers'v corresponding tothe size ofthe Work to be guided therebetween.

9L In combinatioma Workformingmenr ber, mea-ns ,tof'guide. rods ,in single `layer formation tol saidl Work forming member including a guide' plate, ajs'eries ot spaced guide fingers toco'o'pe'rate with said guide plate,'means to' advancejrods' between said guide plate [and :said fingers including a rota-ry member providedk with longitudinal vperipheral ribs, and means to vary vthe posiinterrupted at "'afpl'urality of points, and

means arranged Within said interruptions in adjustable relation to the peripheries of said rotarymenibers, adapted to kvary the effective portions ofthe teeth of said rotary members vand to strip 'the Work from said teethlk 1l. In combination, a Workjforming member,'meansl toadvance work toward said (Work forming member 'including la plurality' of' spaced rotary members arranged to ro-tate'as a unitjsaid rotary members having peripheral projections adapted .to cooperate-to advance all portions of the -Work uniformly and stripping fingers arranged linthefspaces between said rotary members..` l p. n

12.. In'fcomb'inatiom la Woirkiforming mem ber, a plurality ofjspacedfrotary members arranged 'to 'rotate as a unit, said members having vspace-d peripheral projections adapt ed to cooperate to engage and uniformly advance "all portions of the work toward said Worktorming member, and fingers arranged to occupy;` the spacesv between said rotary members and to [strip the Work carried thereby fromv vsaid projections at a determinedzpointin `thero'tationv of said members. 1

In combination, a Work forming member, means to "guide,A rods in single layer formation yto said' 'work forming member includingfa-guide plate, guide fingers spaced ,from said' guidej plate fa ydistance substantlally .colncldmg with ther diameter ot the upon said guide "plate,'jy and means to roll said 4Work along' said guide plate. y f "14'. In combination, a Work l:formingl member, means tov guide rods in. single layer formation to said lWork.forming member including a guide plategguide fingers spaced from said guide platea distance substantially 'coinciding n'fithpthe diameter ofthe" work, said guide fingers being arranged'to` cooperate with' said guide' plate'to main- -ta-in' the Work in 'single'layer formation jivhile ,upon said guide plate, means to ;vai'y. th'e'nornjial spa-ce between said` guide vfingers "andsaid guide plate toI correspond with guide 'the' work tosaid feedkmember, in-"' variationsin 'the work, yand means bodily to remove said guide fingers from their normal positions --frelative'` to e said `giiide plate. j j j 15."In a machine of thefcliaractery described, a toothed-feed member, means to cluding a downwardly `inclined plate, spaced guide fingers arranged adjacent to the edge of said plate and adapted to cooperate with said feed member to separate and advance the work, and means -to vary the extent of` projection of the teeth of said feed member beyond the Working edges of said guide fingers to correspond with the diameter of the Work. j

16. In amachine of the character described, a toothed feedinember, means to guide the Work to said feed member including a downwardly. inclined plate, spaced guide fingers arranged in recesses in the edge of said plate and adapted t-o cooperate with said feed vmem-ber to -separate Work from a mass, and means to adjust said guide fingers laterally of the edge of said plate to vary lthe extent of projection of the teeth of said feed member beyond the Working edges of said guide fingers.

`17.y In combination, a work forming member, a work container, a rotary drum having forwardly inclined blades inserted in its periphery to separate Work from the mass and advance the same toward said Work forming member, and means to vary the amount of' projectionof said blades to correspond Witn the size of the Work. v

18. In combination, a work forming membei', a 'Work container, a rotary drum provided with radially projecting blades for separating the work from' the mass in said container and advancing it toward said work forming member, guide fingers arranged in grooves in said drum to regulate the extent of projection of said blades to correspond with the diameter of the Work; means to strip the work from said blades, and means to guide said work to said Work forming member.

y19,. In combination, a work forming membei', inea'nsft'o feed tliefivoi'l'in singleflayer formation, to said work j forming member,

andi means n frictionally" ldriven" from" said Work feedingmeansto separate Work'ffrom afmass and arrange it'in single layerforina-y tion preparatory to being fedi A 9.0. In coiinbination. a grinder. meansto feed Work to said grinder including a plurality of feed Wheelsarranged'simultaneously to engage lthe work, `means for removing'the Workfroin contact" with said grinder v and 'for simultaneously.v rendering said ffeeding means inoperative, means toseparate the Awork from a mass and arrange the same in "single layer *forinatioiif for feeding, andV fi-icti'onal means operatively connecting said separating means With said feed means to permit said separating *means to stop ivhen A jvlf'l; has become caught therein. l

2l. In combination; a Work "member, and ii'ieansfincluding a'bladed rotary drum for separating the Work and advancing the saine in'snglelayer 'formation ftoxvard said work `the. veffective area of said projections.

23. In combination, aivork member, means for feeding work to said work member including a rotary member provided with peripheral projections adapted to separate'the work from'a mass and advance the same to said Work member,y and twosets of independently adjustable fingers adapted respectively to regulate the effective area of said projections in the vicinity of said Work mass and to strip the Work from said peripheral project-ions.A

24. In combination, a work forming memr' ber, means to .guide rods in single layer formation to said work forming member, guide fingers spaced from said guide plate a distance substantially coinciding with the diameteiv of the Work, said guide fingers being arranged to 4cooperate With said guide plate to maintain the work in single layer formation while upon said plate, means positively to position said guide fingers inoperative relation to the face of said guide plate, and meansbodily to remove said guide fingers from operative relation vto said guide plate.

. mefi'iiber,A v

25. In a grinding apparatus, a `Work coni 'tainer'a rotary'feed member prorided with `interrupted` longitudinalteeth adapted to *receive Work fromsald `container,` lingers arranged in said interruptions adapted to .determine the degree of projection ofrsaid teeth into thework mass and other yfingers :constituting continu'ations of the firsty men-v tioned ngers lto effect the stripping of the Workvfrom said teeth. l 'S 26. In a grinding apparatus, a .rotary drum havinga series of .forwardly inclined peripheral bl'ade'sadapted to separate Work from a mass and advance the same yin single layer formation. l

member havinga. series of forwardly inclined peripheral blades `adapted to Separate y the Work from a mass andadvance the same in single layer formation, guide lingers adjustably. arranged Withrespeetto said blades :to regulate the effeetive Working depth of said blades. .n Y 28. In' combination, a

grinder and means to feed Work elements to said grindery in- I cludinvspaed .guidengerathe guide fingers a jacent the work ends of the Work'ele- 27. In a grinding apparatus, a rotarj'fvfeedv ments being spaced closer than those farther remoredfrom said Workfends.

29.111, eombinationm a grinder,1.n1eans to feed WOrkrIementsto vsaid grinder including spacedguidefingers,4 Ithe guide fingers adjacent,v the Work ends of the vWork elements being spaced closer than `those far- .tlierl removed 'l-from lsaid work ends, and

means adjustabl 'mounted adjacent to the ends of said bla es to Wipe superluouswork velements back into themass.v v

y ,ln combination, a lgrinder,m'eans to yfeed worleelements to said grinder` includv ing'jspaced guilde lingers? the. guide lingers ad] acent' the Work ends, of f the `Work elements JornirnniN A; HUNT; 

